Part III: Working with Assemblies
Assembly design tables can do everything that part design tables can do, except for selecting con-
figurations of base parts and split parts, which are not valid assembly functions. Assembly design
tables can also do some things that a part design table cannot. These include:l Suppressing the state of a part (R for Resolved or S for Suppressed)l (^) Assigning the component configuration for the assembly config
l Enabling you to activate the Never Expand in BOM option
If you have been using design tables for a while and are familiar with older versions, then you may
have noticed that the $show parameter, which specified whether the part was shown or hidden,
has become obsolete due to the new functions of Display States.
Figure 14.12 shows the design table that results from auto-creation using the robot arm assembly.
Some of the columns have been hidden to make it small enough to fit on the page. If you want to
see the entire table, you need to open the assembly. If you edit the design table, you will probably
want to use the Open in Separate Window option, which is easier to navigate and control.
FIGURE 14.12
An auto-created design table from the robot arm assembly
Modify Configurations and Configuration Publisher
Modify Configurations and Configuration Publisher, two configuration tools, are covered in
Chapter 10 in sections on part configurations. Modify Configuration is a dialog box you can use to
configure dimensions, features, and custom properties in parts, and can also use in assemblies. It is
sometimes used in the place of design tables when Excel’s advanced functionality is not needed.
The Configuration Publisher is demonstrated in Chapter 10 on parts: it is used to create a
PropertyManager that pops up when the part is placed into an assembly. The PropertyManager
enables you to select a configuration to go into the assembly. Configuration Publisher is also avail-
able in assemblies; this means you can use a popup PropertyManager when assemblies are placed
into other assemblies as well. Library subassemblies may be less common than library parts, where
the popup PropertyManager would be used to best effect.